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Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of FAQs for teachers, divided into the following categories:

1) Moodle Platforms & Courses

2) About Enrollment of Students & Teachers

3) Managing Course & Students

4) My Profile & Roles

5) Moodle Course Settings & Working Environment

6) About Assignments

7) About Course Tools

(1) Moodle Platforms & Courses

Q: How to access the Central Moodle Platform?

A: If you are teaching AY programmes, please go to https://moodle.vtc.edu.hk/.

Q: I am a new VTC staff. I cannot login to my Moodle account. What should I do?

A: If you are a new VTC staff, you need to activate your Computer Network Account (CNA) at

https://cnatools.vtc.edu.hk/CNAPortalStaff/Activate.aspx.

Q: I cannot find my Moodle course which was created in AY2018/19. Does it exist anymore?

A: The course can be found in AY2018/19 archived Moodle site https://moodle1819.vtc.edu.hk. It

is set to read only mode and is restricted to staff only. It will be archived till March 2021. Student

data are no longer available. You can migrate the courses which are owned by you at archived

Moodle site to the new platform at https://moodle.vtc.edu.hk or download a backup for restore.

Q: What is the purpose of VTC Moodle Development Site?

A: VTC staff can access the VTC Moodle

Development Site at

https://elearndev.vtc.edu.hk for testing

purpose. There are no student data.

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Q: Is there a Moodle platform for non-AY programmes?

A: Yes, please go to https://moodlesp.vtc.edu.hk.

Q: When I log in Moodle for the first time, I found that there are many unknown courses in “My

Courses” page. Why?

A: Since no course is created and owned by you, by default, Moodle system shows all available

courses in your first page. Once you create a Moodle course, the first page will only show the

list of courses owned by you.

Q: How many Moodle “Personal course” can I have?

A: Each staff can create one “Personal course” by default. Teachers can use it for non-teaching

purposes, such as

managing extracurricular activities

preparing your course materials for restore

testing the Moodle functions, etc.

Q: Can I request for an additional “Personal course”?

Yes, you can send your request to ITSD Helpdesk. A:

Q: I have some queries/comment/feedback/suggestions on Moodle. Who should I contact?

A: You can contact the Campus/Discipline/Department e-Learning Coordinator. The list of e-

Learning Coordinators can be found in “News for Staff” at Moodle Resources Website

(http://elsupport.vtc.edu.hk). Also please feel free to send an email to ITSD Helpdesk at itsd-

helpdesk@vtc.edu.hk.

Q: I cannot login to my Moodle account. What should I do?

A:

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:

May be you have entered the wrong CNA and/or password too many times, and your account is

locked, you need to reset the password at

https://cnatools.vtc.edu.hk/CNAPortalStaff/ResetPassword.aspx.

Q: I can see a short name in the navigation menu. What does it mean? Can I change it?

A: This short name is the course ID. You cannot change it and the codes have special meaning. For

example:

Q: I want to create a VTC Moodle course, but I can’t find the course title. What should I do?

A: The VTC course may be categorized in another Programme Board. Please check with your

Module leader.

Module Code Discipline Code Programme Code CNA

Number of module created by

the same user

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(2) About Enrollment of Students & Teachers

Q: How can I enroll a batch of students into my course?

A: In the “Administration” block, there are two different methods for use.

Batch enroll student

CSV enroll user

Q: I want to enroll one student in my course. What should I do?

A: There are two methods to enroll single student.

search the “Student ID” number in the “Batch enroll student” function.

use the function “CSV enroll user”.

Q: When I perform batch enroll, no students can be found. What should I do?

A: Probably it is due to some missing data in the Online Module System (OMS) and/or Time Tabling

System (TTS). Please contact the OMS and/or TTS Coordinator of your department and ask them

to fill in data.

Q: When I perform batch enroll, there are over hundreds of students. How can I shortlist the students?

A: You can apply some filters provided, such as academic year, semester, room number,

Class/Module Study Group, activity, etc.

Q: Can I enroll my colleague into my Moodle course for co-teaching?

A: Yes, you can enroll him/her as a Teacher or Non-

editing teacher. In the “Administration” block,

expand “Users” and click “Enrolled users”.

Q: Can I batch enroll my colleagues as teachers?

A: Yes, you can use the function “CSV enroll user” in the “Administration” block.

Q: I have some queries/comment/feedback/suggestions on student enrollment. Who should I

contact?

A: You can send an email to the ITSD Helpdesk at itsd-helpdesk@vtc.edu.hk.

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(3) Managing Course & Students

Q: Where can I view my course report?

A: In the “Administration” block, expand “Reports” under

“Course administration”. Then select which type of

report you want to view.

Q: How many types of reports are available in Moodle?

A: There are six, namely “Competency breakdown”,

“Logs”, “Live logs”, “Activity report”, “Course

participation” and “Statistics”.

Q: Where can I view student grades?

A: In the “Administration” block, under “Course

administration”, click “Gradebook setup”.

Q: Can I download the Grades report?

A: Yes, you can export students’ grades in “Excel spreadsheet” format and download the file.

In the “Administration” block, under “Course administration”, click “Gradebook setup”.

Click “Export”, click “Excel spreadsheet”, select grade items to be included, click “Download”

button.

Q: Can I keep my course backup in the Moodle platform?

A: You are advised to download the course backup. The course backups will be automatically

deleted at the end of month.

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(4) My Profile & Roles

Q:

I would like to upload my real photo to my profile. What is the file format?

A: Your photo format must be in JPG, JPE, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG or SVGZ format. The image will be

cropped and resized to 100x100 pixels automatically.

Click “Your name” at top right corner, click “Profile” link at top left corner. Click “Edit profile”

link under User details. Drag your real photo to the dotted area under “User picture” section.

Click “Update profile” button.

Q: Can I change my name in my profile?

A: Yes, you can edit your profiles by clicking “Your name” at top right corner, then click “Profile” link

at top left corner. Click “Edit profile” link under User details.

Q: As a teacher, how can I view my course as a student?

A: In the user menu at top right corner, click “Switch role to…” and then click “Student” button. You

can view the resources and participate in the activities but the student data (e.g. quiz scores) will

not be stored. You may switch back to the Teacher role by clicking “Return to my normal role”.

Q: What are the differences between the role of a Non-editing Teacher and Teacher in Moodle?

A: Staff with a “Teacher” role can add resources and activities, change course settings, grade student

activity while staff with a “Non-editing Teacher” role can only view course content, review and

grade student submissions but cannot add/change the resources and activities.

Q: Can I un-enroll the supervisors of my VTC course (e.g. Discipline Academic Director, Program

Board Chairperson, Programme Board Leader, etc.)?

A: You are advised not to un-enroll them.

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(5) Moodle Course Settings & Working Environment

Q: What are the functions of “Management utilities”?

A: The “Management utilities” is a customized application that

allows VTC staff to create/delete courses, generate VTC reports,

transfer course ownership and update template list.

Q: What is the difference between topics, weekly, social format and single activity format?

A: There are four course formats:

“Single activity format” is displaying a single activity or resource (such as a Quiz or SCORM

package) on the course page. It has 1 section only and allows the teacher to add one activity

only to the course. When the single activity format is selected, a drop down menu appears for

the teacher to choose the activity they wish to use.

“Social format” is built around forums rather than by topics or in weeks. It is good for

announcements and discussions.

“Topics format” is organised resources by topic/units, regardless of how long they take. It is

good for courses which are chronologically dynamic.

“Weekly format” is organised your Moodle Courses into weeks. All resources are resided in

week-by-week blocks. It is good for courses which are structured in regular format.

Click “Edit course settings” button on top, you can select the course format under “Course

format” section.

Q: I want to edit the settings of a resource/activity. Where are the editing tools?

A: With editing turned on, click “Edit” to expand

the sub-menu. You can find some editing

tools for use.

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Q: Can I hide a topic of a Moodle course from students and reveal them one at a time?

A: Yes, you can. With editing turned

on, click “Hide” to hide it.

Q: Can teacher change course name or course short name?

A: No, teachers are not allowed to do so.

Q: Why can’t I see the “Activity completion” square boxes next to my content resources/activities?

A: You need to edit course settings and

enable the “Completion tracking”

function.

Q: What is the maximum storage capacity of “My private files”?

A: “My private files” is a private file storage area. Both teachers and students have 1GB of

storage space.

(6) About Assignments

Q: Is it possible to set a cut-off date?

A: Yes. In the Assignment Settings, in the “Availability” section, you can specify submission period

and a cut-off date.

Q: Which types of files can be uploaded for assignment submission? Is there a limit of file upload

size?

A: Moodle accepts all files types. The 1GB maximum submission size is set up in the course settings

and you can reduce it in the Assignment settings.

Q: Is there any anti-plagiarism application installed in VTC Moodle platform?

A: Yes, it is called “VeriGuide”. You can enable this function in the “VeriGuide parameters” section

in “Assignment Settings”.

Q: Do I need to login “VeriGuide” website to check the originally report?

A: No. When you check the origianlly report, it will go to the “VeriGuide” website directly.

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(7) About Course Tools

Q: Does Moodle have drag and drop file function?

A: Yes, you can drag multiple files into your Moodle course. Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft

Edge is recommended so that the drag and drop upload function can be used.

Q: Does Moodle have a file manager to manage the file?

A: Moodle does not provide a tool for file management. When you upload a file to your course, it

goes into the System Files. If you delete the link to a file from your Moodle course, the file is

then deleted from Moodle.

Q: After I edit a resource/activity, there is no response when I click the “Save and return to course”

or “Save and display” button. Did I miss out anything?

A: Please make sure you have filled in all the required fields with an exclamation mark ! (e.g. name,

description), otherwise you cannot save the page.

Q: When I import the course contents/activities from another course, I find that it is not fully

restored. Why?

A: You must edit the course settings again to make sure that your new course matches the old one.

1. Click the “Edit settings” link in the “Administration” block.

2. Make sure the format matches the module you're copying content from.

3. Click on the “Save and display” button at the bottom.

Q: I have already put the video embedded code in the “Page content”. Why doesn’t the video show

in the course?

A: You have probably pasted the embedded code into the page content area. Please click on the

“” icon to view all the buttons, click the “</>” icon and paste the code into the HTML source

editor.

Q: What tools does Moodle offer for collaborative learning?

A: There are a range of activities in Moodle which support collaborative learning, e.g. forum, wiki,

glossary and database.

Q: I want to set a simple voting activity. Which Moodle tool should I use?

A: You can use the “Choice” tool. With the editing turned on, go to a section and click the “Add

an activity or resource” button. Under the “ACTIVITIES” category, select “Choice” and click on

the “Add” button.